# I learned that salmon is dyed--disgusting--plus other fake food travesties that horrify you **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [June 25, 2012, 9:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-learned-that-salmon-is-dyed-disgusting-plus-other-fake-food-travesties-that-horrify-you/626229 "2012-06-25T09:42:35Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Mithras](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f04885/32.png) [@Mithras](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mithras)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2012, 3:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-learned-that-salmon-is-dyed-disgusting-plus-other-fake-food-travesties-that-horrify-you/626229/41 "2012-06-25T15:25:59Z")
> [@bouv](#): > > If you read the article (and the ones it links to,) you’ll find out honey is one of the [worst offenders.](http://www.foodsafetynews.com/2011/11/tests-show-most-store-honey-isnt-honey/) Except that the claims about honey are [untrue or at least vastly overblown](http://www.npr.org/blogs/thesalt/2011/11/25/142659547/relax-folks-it-really-is-honey-after-all). Unfortunately, t’s probably much too late to keep, “all the honey you buy isn’t really honey unless it comes from a farmer’s market,” from being repeated a billion times. More to the point of this thread, correcting the claim doesn’t get as many page views for your multi-page alarmist list. As to salmon dye specifically, though farmed salmon is selectively colored it’s not like they’re pouring poison over your fish. In fact, the chemical included in their food is [often the same as the main coloring agent for wild salmon](http://www.bellona.org/aquaculture/artikler/Dyes_in_salmon/). To me, it’s no different than adding vitamins to our cereal. ---
**Author:** ![Astral\_Rejection](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/258eb7/32.png) [@Astral\_Rejection](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Astral_Rejection)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2012, 3:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-learned-that-salmon-is-dyed-disgusting-plus-other-fake-food-travesties-that-horrify-you/626229/42 "2012-06-25T15:31:29Z")
Was that really necessary? I think this is a pretty interesting thread. Edit: in response to purplehorseshoes. ---
**Author:** ![Sailboat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sailboat/32/461_2.png) [@Sailboat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sailboat)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2012, 3:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-learned-that-salmon-is-dyed-disgusting-plus-other-fake-food-travesties-that-horrify-you/626229/43 "2012-06-25T15:40:25Z")
> [@bouv](#): > > If you read the article (and the ones it links to,) you’ll find out honey is one of the [worst offenders.](http://www.foodsafetynews.com/2011/11/tests-show-most-store-honey-isnt-honey/) > > Basically, most national and store brands can’t be confirmed as even being honey…most likely flavored corn syrup from China with maybe a small amount of real honey in there. Demand _genuine_ insect regurgitation! Accept no substitutes!!! ---
**Author:** ![Smeghead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f1d935/32.png) [@Smeghead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smeghead)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2012, 3:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-learned-that-salmon-is-dyed-disgusting-plus-other-fake-food-travesties-that-horrify-you/626229/44 "2012-06-25T15:41:07Z")
> [@Annie-Xmas](#): > > Fat Free Half & Half???FAT FREE HALF & HALF. > > Half & Half is half milk and half cream. Both of which contain fat. Oh, HELL yes! I was so pissed off the one time I accidentally grabbed this stuff and brought it home. It’s fat free milk thickened with corn starch - at least, those were the ingredients on my carton. There’s no WAY that should be allowed to have “half and half” on the label. ---
**Author:** ![Hampshire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hampshire/32/4887_2.png) [@Hampshire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hampshire)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2012, 4:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-learned-that-salmon-is-dyed-disgusting-plus-other-fake-food-travesties-that-horrify-you/626229/45 "2012-06-25T16:13:33Z")
Interesting about the Kobe beef. I’ve never ordered Kobe anything off of a menu because of the outrageous price. Now I’m glad I never indulged since I would feel like a total chump. ---
**Author:** ![amanset](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8dc957/32.png) [@amanset](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amanset)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2012, 4:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-learned-that-salmon-is-dyed-disgusting-plus-other-fake-food-travesties-that-horrify-you/626229/46 "2012-06-25T16:17:52Z")
> [@Aeschines](#): > > Still a cheapass thing to give people to put on their pancakes, though. Mate, it’s McDonalds. ---
**Author:** ![amanset](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8dc957/32.png) [@amanset](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amanset)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2012, 4:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-learned-that-salmon-is-dyed-disgusting-plus-other-fake-food-travesties-that-horrify-you/626229/47 "2012-06-25T16:21:00Z")
> [@Aeschines](#): > > I understand that wild salmon is orange. The farmed stuff is clearly a less appealing product, and instead of letting it stand on its own merits, the producers are trying to fool people. It is dyed in a way that the consumer will find appealing, like 99.99999% of other foods that contain food colouring. ---
**Author:** ![Lasciel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e79b87/32.png) [@Lasciel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lasciel)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2012, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-learned-that-salmon-is-dyed-disgusting-plus-other-fake-food-travesties-that-horrify-you/626229/48 "2012-06-25T16:30:34Z")
> [@Sailboat](#): > > Demand _genuine_ insect regurgitation! Accept no substitutes!!! Have to say tho that it’s good business for small honey producers. My MIL has about 20 hives, and she’s selling totally out of honey every time she goes to a farmer’s market. It’s crazy. As far as colored salmon - eh. I’m trying to retain some semblance of happiness that I’m not raping the oceans by eating wild stuff, so quit harshing my vibe over here. Honestly, I’ve eaten at Golden Corral and not died, so I figure the introduction of “factory produced krill equivalent” in my salmon isn’t going to kill me either. It’s just like the pink slime stuff - I bet you (just like everyone else) ate ground beef happily when you didn’t know what was in there. Either think happy thoughts and enjoy your tasty food (generally my choice), or actually do some work, figure out what’s actually IN your food, and use that information on a day to day basis to regulate your diet without relying on a huge national expose to make you feel all outraged. ---
**Author:** ![blindboyard](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blindboyard/32/2833_2.png) [@blindboyard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blindboyard)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2012, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-learned-that-salmon-is-dyed-disgusting-plus-other-fake-food-travesties-that-horrify-you/626229/49 "2012-06-25T16:38:27Z")
> [@Musicat](#): > > Cheddar cheese is not naturally orange, but a slight off-white. The natural colored version is available in specialty shops. Probably my imagination, but it tastes better un-dyed. My local supermarket does Cheshire cheese, both “White Cheshire” and “Coloured Cheshire”. Same price. Pelicans are died too. Fresh fruit and veg is often months old, having been kept in a nitrogen atmosphere to maintain the illusion of freshness. Supermarkets used to pump in the smell of baking bread to make the bread aisle smell fresh. Mushy peas are certainly died green, as the mushification process removes the colour. Non brewed condiment. Pips in jam made of wood. Cellulose and HFCS in everything. ---
**Author:** ![Angel\_of\_the\_Lord](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/angel_of_the_lord/32/2949_2.png) [@Angel\_of\_the\_Lord](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Angel_of_the_Lord)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2012, 5:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-learned-that-salmon-is-dyed-disgusting-plus-other-fake-food-travesties-that-horrify-you/626229/50 "2012-06-25T17:00:04Z")
> [@Lasciel](#): > > As far as colored salmon - eh. I’m trying to retain some semblance of happiness that I’m not raping the oceans by eating wild stuff, so quit harshing my vibe over here. Actually, from what I’ve heard, [farmed salmon is actually worse than most wild Pacific salmon](http://www.montereybayaquarium.org/cr/SeafoodWatch/web/sfw_factsheet.aspx?fid=133). So, really, you might as well get the wild stuff; tastes a zillion times better, anyway. ---
**Author:** ![ralph124c](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8797f3/32.png) [@ralph124c](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ralph124c)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2012, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-learned-that-salmon-is-dyed-disgusting-plus-other-fake-food-travesties-that-horrify-you/626229/51 "2012-06-25T17:11:54Z")
My mother used to make a “mock-apple” pie that was pretty good-she used graham crackers soaked in apple juice. As far as dying foods go-when I was a kid, all the pistacio nuts were dyed red. Your fingertips would be bright red. They seemed to have stopped doing it. I read where Perdue feeds their chicken flower petals-that make for a nice yellow chicken! About the orange cheddar-it has always been dyed-either with marigold flowers or anatto (both are harmless vegetable colorings). ---
**Author:** ![Turble](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8dc957/32.png) [@Turble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Turble)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2012, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-learned-that-salmon-is-dyed-disgusting-plus-other-fake-food-travesties-that-horrify-you/626229/52 "2012-06-25T17:17:19Z")
I was invited to stay for a spaghetti dinner at a friend’s place a few weeks ago. On the table was the familiar green shaker bottle … but it didn’t look quite right. [Kraft Reduced Fat Parmesan Style Grated Topping](http://www.fatsecret.com/calories-nutrition/kraft/reduced-fat-parmesan-style-grated-topping/photos/img-339486) They don’t even call it cheese. Ingredients include rice flour, starch, and maltodextrin. It pretty much just tasted like salt. ---
**Author:** ![DrFidelius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drfidelius/32/3447_2.png) [@DrFidelius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrFidelius)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2012, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-learned-that-salmon-is-dyed-disgusting-plus-other-fake-food-travesties-that-horrify-you/626229/53 "2012-06-25T17:28:45Z")
> [@blindboyard](#): > > My local supermarket does Cheshire cheese, both “White Cheshire” and “Coloured Cheshire”. Same price. > > **Pelicans are died too**. > > Fresh fruit and veg is often months old, having been kept in a nitrogen atmosphere to maintain the illusion of freshness. > > Supermarkets used to pump in the smell of baking bread to make the bread aisle smell fresh. > > Mushy peas are certainly died green, as the mushification process removes the colour. > > Non brewed condiment. Pips in jam made of wood. Cellulose and HFCS in everything. Pelicans? You have a place that sells artificially colored pelicans? As opposed to naturally colored sea birds? Is this near the albatross vendors? ---
**Author:** ![Ferret\_Herder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e47774/32.png) [@Ferret\_Herder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ferret_Herder)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2012, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-learned-that-salmon-is-dyed-disgusting-plus-other-fake-food-travesties-that-horrify-you/626229/54 "2012-06-25T18:04:12Z")
> [@DrFidelius](#): > > Pelicans? > You have a place that sells artificially colored pelicans? As opposed to naturally colored sea birds? Is this near the albatross vendors? He might mean flamingos - unless they get certain things in their diet (it might be the krill that “dyes” salmon naturally), they lose their pink coloration. Captive flamingos need that supplemented into their diet to look like what you’d expect. ---
**Author:** ![lance\_strongarm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/87869e/32.png) [@lance\_strongarm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lance_strongarm)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2012, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-learned-that-salmon-is-dyed-disgusting-plus-other-fake-food-travesties-that-horrify-you/626229/55 "2012-06-25T18:10:58Z")
> [@Aeschines](#): > > Anyone else find this absolutely effed-up fake and abominable? No. Stupid that people think salmon should be a certain color, but as long as the dye is harmless, big deal. It just means you were ignorant about salmon. If you think about it, why doesn’t the fact that some salmon is red due to its diet not disgust you too? Why not? (And some wild salmon is died as well, btw). > [@](#): > > I have one more. We stopped at McDonald’s for breakfast the other day because there were few other options. Well, of course. You would never actually want to eat there. :rolleyes: > [@](#): > > I was horrified that they offered “whipped margarine” for the hotcakes–I thought trans fat was _out_ these days. In any case, there are better non-butter spreads out there that presumably won’t break poor McDonald’s bank. Like what? How about real butter? Oh, wait, cholesterol is bad too. > [@](#): > > Also, the syrup for the hotcakes was the fakest shyte I’ve ever tasted. Not even a good imitation of “maple.” I’m not a stickler for 100% pure maple syrup (I rarely order pancakes, etc., anyway), but this was sub-sub-Mrs. Butterworth’s level. Like not even trying. Yet you tried it. I welcome your thoughts and stories! [/QUOTE] ---
**Author:** ![Lasciel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e79b87/32.png) [@Lasciel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lasciel)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2012, 6:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-learned-that-salmon-is-dyed-disgusting-plus-other-fake-food-travesties-that-horrify-you/626229/56 "2012-06-25T18:16:18Z")
> [@Angel\_of\_the\_Lord](#): > > Actually, from what I’ve heard, [farmed salmon is actually worse than most wild Pacific salmon](http://www.montereybayaquarium.org/cr/SeafoodWatch/web/sfw_factsheet.aspx?fid=133). So, really, you might as well get the wild stuff; tastes a zillion times better, anyway. Well, God damn it all then. I’m just going to go eat a side of bacon and call it quits. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2012, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-learned-that-salmon-is-dyed-disgusting-plus-other-fake-food-travesties-that-horrify-you/626229/57 "2012-06-25T18:19:24Z")
Dyed. Dyed. Dyed. If you are eating salmon, the fish died when they killed it. The color enhancing agents cause the fishes’ dead flesh to be dyed. sorry. ---
**Author:** ![bouv](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bc8723/32.png) [@bouv](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bouv)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2012, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-learned-that-salmon-is-dyed-disgusting-plus-other-fake-food-travesties-that-horrify-you/626229/58 "2012-06-25T19:16:04Z")
> [@Mithras](#): > > Except that the claims about honey are [untrue or at least vastly overblown](http://www.npr.org/blogs/thesalt/2011/11/25/142659547/relax-folks-it-really-is-honey-after-all). Unfortunately, t’s probably much too late to keep, “all the honey you buy isn’t really honey unless it comes from a farmer’s market,” from being repeated a billion times. More to the point of this thread, correcting the claim doesn’t get as many page views for your multi-page alarmist list. Well that’s good to know. I’ll still stick to some local honey, if for no other reason than it simply tastes better. But thankfully I don’t have to get it from a farmer’s market, most grocery stores here have decent sized local food sections. (I saw thankfully because _fuck_ getting up early on a Saturday just to to not find parking, fight my way through the crowds, then realize too late that I have no cash on me and can’t actually buy anything.) (Though actually, I can’t remember the last time I actually bought liquid honey…lately, all I’ve been buying is crystallized honey to spread on toast and such.) ---
**Author:** ![cckerberos](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f0a364/32.png) [@cckerberos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cckerberos)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2012, 7:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-learned-that-salmon-is-dyed-disgusting-plus-other-fake-food-travesties-that-horrify-you/626229/59 "2012-06-25T19:40:32Z")
> [@Hampshire](#): > > Interesting about the Kobe beef. > I’ve never ordered Kobe anything off of a menu because of the outrageous price. Now I’m glad I never indulged since I would feel like a total chump. I generally don’t support things like the EU’s regional designation laws since they’re so often applied to things like champagne and parmesan cheese… products that have been produced worldwide for so long that I don’t believe your average consumer is being deceived. But in the case of Kobe beef, I think that a lot of consumers honestly believe they’re getting special Japanese beef… or at least beef prepared in the same way, when they absolutely aren’t. (And what’s up with “Kobe burgers”? The selling point of wagyu is the marbling. If you grind up the meat you just get fatty ground beef.) ---
**Author:** ![lance\_strongarm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/87869e/32.png) [@lance\_strongarm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lance_strongarm)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2012, 7:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-learned-that-salmon-is-dyed-disgusting-plus-other-fake-food-travesties-that-horrify-you/626229/60 "2012-06-25T19:48:44Z")
> [@cckerberos](#): > > I generally don’t support things like the EU’s regional designation laws since they’re so often applied to things like champagne and parmesan cheese… products that have been produced worldwide for so long that I don’t believe your average consumer is being deceived. Well, no, what that means is they’ve been deceived for a very long time is all. But yeah, most consumers don’t expect those to be from those regions any more. > [@](#): > > But in the case of Kobe beef, I think that a lot of consumers honestly believe they’re getting special Japanese beef… or at least beef prepared in the same way, when they absolutely aren’t. Yep. Another example is “Maryland crab cake.” It may refer to the style of crab cake, but often contains little or no crab meat from Chesapeake Bay blue crabs. Someone has started a certification program for that: [http://articles.baltimoresun.com/2012-06-07/features/bal-true-blue-crab-campaign-fights-imported-seafood-20120605\_1\_watermen-and-seafood-dealers-crab-seafood-marketing-specialist](http://articles.baltimoresun.com/2012-06-07/features/bal-true-blue-crab-campaign-fights-imported-seafood-20120605_1_watermen-and-seafood-dealers-crab-seafood-marketing-specialist) > [@](#): > > (And what’s up with “Kobe burgers”? The selling point of wagyu is the marbling. If you grind up the meat you just get fatty ground beef.) Consumers don’t know that. They have a vague notion that Kobe beef = good beef. That’s it. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-learned-that-salmon-is-dyed-disgusting-plus-other-fake-food-travesties-that-horrify-you/626229.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-learned-that-salmon-is-dyed-disgusting-plus-other-fake-food-travesties-that-horrify-you/626229.md?page=4)